I'm a little surprised a thread hasn't already been started for this (it has been out for 2 days after all ). I thought this easily the best Marvel film to date, and one of the most enjoyable comic book movies I've ever seen. Whedon brings the laughs as well as some epic set pieces, all handled deftly and with clear appreciation of the source material. All the cast are on top form and clearly having the time of their lives which bleeds through in to the performances.

It's a high standard that has been set for other Marvel films, I'll be interested to see where it all goes from here. Favourite moments? For me *SPOILERS FOR THE FOOLS WHO READ FAVOURITE FILM THREADS WITHOUT HAVING WATCHED THE FILM!*, it's either when Stark buzzes Banner hoping to see a reaction, or when Loki sneers at the Hulk, only to get his violent comeuppance. Brilliantly judged and executed comedy moments

So many great moments! One small bit that had me geeking out was when Iron Man fired his beams at Captain America's shield and Caps deflected it to take out a load of the Chitauri. Reminded me of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 fusion powers! Loved it! It was really everything I wanted to see and more. Straight after watching it I wanted to see it again! My only, one, minor complaint was the lack of explanation for War Machine's absence. I'm glad he wasn't in the film, he would have been one character too many but by not explaining why he wasn't there, they left me a little, annoying plot hole. They only needed to explain it away with one line, like they did with Natalie Portman's character and that would have done me. Still though, epic film!

I really liked it - final 30 minutes were pure comic book greatness. But the first two acts were a mish mash of great Whedon moments, but a lot of the stuff which plagued previous Marvel films.

If I have a criticism, it's that the stuff on the big aircraft carrier thingy goes on for a bit too long. It takes up the entire second act, and at times starts to drag the film down a bit. It's a minor criticism though really in the context of the film, because there's still the odd lighter moments within it that help perk it up.

I loved it. It has everything you could want, not just from a superhero movie, but from a trip to the cinema. I'm not a fan-boy in any way but it had me giddy with excitement, especially during the 'montage' scene in the final act - so awesome! Pure entertainment.

So many great moments! One small bit that had me geeking out was when Iron Man fired his beams at Captain America's shield and Caps deflected it to take out a load of the Chitauri. Reminded me of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 fusion powers! Loved it! It was really everything I wanted to see and more. Straight after watching it I wanted to see it again! My only, one, minor complaint was the lack of explanation for War Machine's absence. I'm glad he wasn't in the film, he would have been one character too many but by not explaining why he wasn't there, they left me a little, annoying plot hole. They only needed to explain it away with one line, like they did with Natalie Portman's character and that would have done me. Still though, epic film!

I'm with you on the gaming aspect. I did half wonder if that was maybe an intentional wink to gamers.

Loved the film. Saw it first in 3D but now will probably check it out in 2D.

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Viewers of a nervous disposition may be interested to know that your television is off and I am speaking to you from inside your head...

What!? Get the hell out of the favourite film forum fool! I'd be right with you if this was on the Future Films forum or under the official Empire review but if you come into a Favourite Film thread then what do you expect?

I really enjoyed it. It worked surprisingly well given the amount of big characters to cover. They all had a fair share of the limelight, with Tony Stark being on brilliantly sarcastic form (could you imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr in that role?), loved him trying to wind up Banner. However, Hulk stole the show for me. Although I was a fan of Norton's film, this is easily the best Hulk film, which really makes me wonder where they can take the character from here if it's back to solo films, as it's a tough act to follow.

Although I only played the demo of Ultimate Alliance 2, that was the first thing I thought of when Iron Man used Cap's shield.

Great action, great writing and a top cast. Liked the cameo when Banner wakes up, too!

Just got back from seeing it and thought it was a total blast! A very very enjoyable blockbuster full of action and (genuinely funny) humour.As the Empire review says it could have easily been the Tony Stark show,but all the heroes got their chance to shine and was a very satisfying continuation of these heroes stories for the most part.The action scenes were terrific,really well shot (no shaky cam here!) and the cgi was breathtaking.

I do have to say that i found Mark Ruffalo to be rather stiff and wooden as Bruce Banner.I thought Edward Norton was much more likeable in the role and its a shame that Marvel didnt invite him to the party (if anything just for continuitys sake).Also while a lot of Hulks scenes were funny,he did come very close to being a big green Jar Jar Binks in this movie.The creatures appearance seemed to me to be more cartoonish as he appeared in the Ang Lee film and not the lean green wrecking machine he was in the 2008 film.They also seemed to abandon the whole concept of Banners accelerated heart rate triggering his transformations that was established in the Norton film.

I also found it odd that they took the time to show what happened to Thors love Jane Foster, but not even show Cap asking what happened to Peggy Carter and if she was even still around? surely it would have been the one of the first questions he had on waking up in the present day?

Overall though a hugely enjoyable blockbuster movie and i look forward to seeing it again soon.

One more thing, can the OP of this thread change the title to The Avengers and not that silly one that were stuck with over here in the uk? I hate that title so much that i will be investing in the amercian blu ray version when it becomes available to buy.

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'' Iv played Oskar Schindler, Michael Collins, Rob Roy Mcgregor, even ZEUS for gods sake! No one is going to believe me to be a green grocer! ''

Apparently there will be 30 mins + of deleted scenes on the DVD, most of which will focus on Captain America, who I did feel was a bit sidelined.

So... who exactly is Thanos?

And Agent 'Phil' Son of Coul! Nooo.

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"I put no stock in religion. By the word 'religion', I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called 'The Will of God'. Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves."

I do have to say that i found Mark Ruffalo to be rather stiff and wooden as Bruce Banner.I thought Edward Norton was much more likeable in the role and its a shame that Marvel didnt invite him to the party (if anything just for continuitys sake).Also while a lot of Hulks scenes were funny,he did come very close to being a big green Jar Jar Binks in this movie.The creatures appearance seemed to me to be more cartoonish as he appeared in the Ang Lee film and not the lean green wrecking machine he was in the 2008 film.They also seemed to abandon the whole concept of Banners accelerated heart rate triggering his transformations that was established in the Norton film.

I hate to admit it but I really, really liked Ruffalo as Banner. At first, I was thinking to myself this would be so much cooler with Norton but Ruffalo is so good I soon forgot about how all the Blue Steel pre-release photos. Yes, Norton was definitley a more likeable Bruce Banner but Rufflao does a brilliant job at playing Banner as a quirky, awkward man. Norton also captured Banner as a tortured soul, filled with regret, seeing the Hulk as a curse and one that he brought on himself. By the end of TIH he's learnt to gain some control over "Hulking out" so it makes sense that in this film, he's a lot more at peace with himself.

To an extent I understand what you mean about the Hulk but calling him a Jar Jar Binks is going way too far. TIH Hulk looked a lot more ripped as if his muscles were pulling themselves apart they were so taunt and I think that's why people remember him being more detailed or "realistic". I'll admit I do prefer the design of the TIH version but the AA Hulk does resemble the comic book look a lot more, and I think its silly to say it looked anything like Ang Lee's. That was Shrek on steroids! The CG in AA's Hulk's face is incredible, he looks just like Ruffalo!

The accelerated heart beat bugged me a litrle at first but then he did learn to trigger it by himself at the end of TIH and to be fair, when he does lose control he is panting madly after just being blown up, that usually gets the heart rate going. Just becuase he's not wearing a heartbeat monitor anymore to shout it out doesn't mean they've abadoned the concept really.

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ORIGINAL: Cool Breeze I also found it odd that they took the time to show what happened to Thors love Jane Foster, but not even show Cap asking what happened to Peggy Carter and if she was even still around? surely it would have been the one of the first questions he had on waking up in the present day?

Apparently this was addressed in the original cut as Whedon shot a sequence where Rogers and an old Peggy reunite and even have that dance together finally. Whedon has said it was probably his favourite scene but it slowed the pacing of the film dead so it had to be cut. Maybe we'll see it in a director's cut or they'll work it into Captain America 2? It also bugged me that there was no mention of War Machine...

I'll get the negatives out of the way: 1) The fight between Ironman and Thor.

That's it*. The pacing of this film felt absolutely perfect with the exception of the above mentioned scene which was felt unnecessary and, therefore, was way too long. Everything up to that point had been great and, fortunately, it got right back into its stride in the very next scene.

In hindsight, the second act on board the invisible, flying aircraft carrier was very long, but I didn't notice this when I was watching the film. The interplay between the characters and the multiple complex relationships was superbly done, which made the resulting fight scenes superb.

I'll highlight a section from the second act that pretty much sums up how good this film is: Banner transforms into the Hulk. There's a chase sequence with the Black Widow which is short, never becomes boring, and has some emotional heft due to the previous scenes between Banner and the Black Widow. Thor takes over. The fight is short and spectacle never gives way to boring. Meanwhile, the Black Widow encounters Renner (Hawk? Hawkeye? Hawkwing? I don't know that character's name). A fight scene elevated by the details we know of their relationship. Again the fight sequence is short and never becomes boring.

To sum up, the set pieces are nearly all spectacular but short enough that the spectacular doesn't become mundane (I view the last act as a large number of set pieces strung together). Many of the set pieces have some sort of emotional weight behind them (not huge amounts, but enought to increase the interesting) or humour or some kind of cleverness. They're also short. The only exception is the above mentioned Ironman vs. Thor throwdown. In a lesser film Captain America's rescue of the people from the building would have been a lot longer and would have taken up most of his time from the final act.

I really liked how Captain America and Renner felt like they belonged in the battle alongside the much more powerful Ironman, Thor, and Hulk (I'm not a comic book fan and my impression is that Captain America is a fair bit weaker than those three. If I'm wrong, I don't care. That's the impression the films have given me). Captain America clearly leads the Avengers in battle. Renner acts as the Avengers' eyes on the battlefield. Black Widow did seem a bit out of place in terms of strength and utility but that she came to be involved in the battle at all didn't seem forced, so I let that slide.

Comment on the acting. This is the most impressed I've been by Scarlett Johansson in a film since Lost in Translation. Since then she's seemed to be not much more that a pretty face acting as placeholder for [female lead]. She's appeared in lots of respectable films but never struck me as being anything more than adequate (e.g. The Prestige). Mark Ruffalo is superb in this film and I'm quite glad that he's replaced Edward Norton.

Edit: It's funny as well. But you all know that.

* Yeah, there are ridiculous things like the mere existence aircraft carrier and the invasion tactics that did make me go, "now, hang on", but these didn't spoil the film for me.

Saw it today and loved it. So many geek-out moments ( ironman using Cap's shield, hulk smash) and it was a lot funnier than I expected ( Hulk again, and the one-liners were nicely spread out throughout the cast) Losing Agent Coulson took me by surprise, and enjoyed the black widow character in this a lot more than in Ironman 2.

Just came back from it and loved it. There is room for The Dark Knight and realism in comic book films but there was never a fun movie to match it for quality, which is what a lot of people missed, but I think we have it now. Hats off to Whedon, he really did up his game for this one, the amount of plates he had to have spinning was mind-boggling.

Highlights were:

- Iron Man: Downey Jnr just make it seem effortless. He somehow makes Stark the most fun and witty but at the same time capable of the most gravitas.

- Mark Ruffalo/The Hulk: I don't know if I'm in the minority, but I find it hard to see Edward Norton as likeable in anything, never mind as Banner. Conversely, Ruffalo seems incapable of being a dick, and he got to the heart of Banner without resorting to angst or moodiness. I liked how The HUlk was constantly referred to as "the other guy". They also played up his intellect, which I didn't get any sense of in TIH. He just seems to run and smash in that incarnation. Ruffalo's CG counterpart was fantastic too, by far my favourite Hulk, and he actually looked like Ruffalo. I loved how he crouched around like an ape and whupped Loki like a tire swing.

- Tom Hiddleston: He did a really great job, very menacing and I'm glad they went with Loki as the villain as anyone else would seem small change compared to a god - even a puny god. Very ego-maniacal like all the best supervillains.

- Scarlett Johansson: What? She's pretty. Seriously though, her scene with Loki was great and she held her own with the dudes and wasn't sidelined even in a film with gods and superheroes. For a supposed pin-up she kicked some serious ass (I know it was a stunt double doing most of the kicking, shut up ).

- The humour: There's so many small moments that lighten the mood so it doesn't ratchet up too much, which was great. The moments that got the most laughs involved either Stark or Banner/The Hulk - Banner being zapped by Stark, the custodian (Harry Dean Stanton!) finding a nude Banner ("I think you've got a condition!"), Banner showing up to the fight in a clapped-out motorbike. Also, one of my favourites was The Hulk reviving the dead Stark.

Everyone brought their best though, I'm tempted to go back for another viewing soon.

Such an awesome film. For all the complaints that built up from the drawbacks of Iron Man 2, TIH and Thor this was so worth it on every damn level. Entertainment and spectacle at its finest, though I wonder how future (individual) movies will work now- they have something to live up to which IMO will need future team ups, though I can see that getting stale.

Two things bothered me

1) Banner saying "set spectrometers to detect gamma radiation" LOL

2) What I would have done to see War Machine in there, or at least General Ross show up with the Abomination as a last ditch.

That first Hulk out was awesome, something felt very classic about it. I am a very happy bunny

Just got back from seeing it and thought it was a total blast! A very very enjoyable blockbuster full of action and (genuinely funny) humour.As the Empire review says it could have easily been the Tony Stark show,but all the heroes got their chance to shine and was a very satisfying continuation of these heroes stories for the most part.The action scenes were terrific,really well shot (no shaky cam here!) and the cgi was breathtaking.

I do have to say that i found Mark Ruffalo to be rather stiff and wooden as Bruce Banner.I thought Edward Norton was much more likeable in the role and its a shame that Marvel didnt invite him to the party (if anything just for continuitys sake).Also while a lot of Hulks scenes were funny,he did come very close to being a big green Jar Jar Binks in this movie.The creatures appearance seemed to me to be more cartoonish as he appeared in the Ang Lee film and not the lean green wrecking machine he was in the 2008 film.They also seemed to abandon the whole concept of Banners accelerated heart rate triggering his transformations that was established in the Norton film.

I also found it odd that they took the time to show what happened to Thors love Jane Foster, but not even show Cap asking what happened to Peggy Carter and if she was even still around? surely it would have been the one of the first questions he had on waking up in the present day?

Overall though a hugely enjoyable blockbuster movie and i look forward to seeing it again soon.

One more thing, can the OP of this thread change the title to The Avengers and not that silly one that were stuck with over here in the uk? I hate that title so much that i will be investing in the amercian blu ray version when it becomes available to buy.